Just Pulling His Leg
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September 28th, 2013

Just Pulling His Leg

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Discussion (3)¬

  1. Michele says:

    Just let it go..

  2. Pat says:

    I've found several possible etymologies for this one; the only one I can supply from a really reliable source is that it probably refers to tripping someone as a gag or waking up someone sleeping in a ship's berth or railway compartment (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pull).

    There is also a popular and plausible but poorly-documented theory that it refers to the practice of muggers working in teams with the first assailant tripping the victim, often with a hooked cane.

    Finally, there's an awfully weak one floating around that seems the sort of thing that catches on fast for sounding interesting but has no real support: that the phrase refers to the practice of pulling on a hanged man to kill him faster. While there's evidence enough that this was done sometimes, it doesn't seem to have any real relation to "pull one's leg."

    Going by the two likely origins, what strikes me here is that it's a great, evocative phrase for "to trick" or "to make a fool of," but a terrible one for "to joke" or "to have fun with." And indeed, in the first panel, the woman's victim certainly doesn't seem to have been in on the fun.

  3. Just let that one go, Lemont. Pick your battles.